


Neglect

by belovedmuerto



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, empath!John, experiments in empathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-16 00:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2249187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belovedmuerto/pseuds/belovedmuerto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock realizes that he's been neglecting John.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neglect

**Author's Note:**

> Despite the title and its connotations, this is actually pretty fluffy. Just a short little thing where Sherlock has a realization, and does something about it.
> 
> Originally posted on tumblr sometime last week. Not beta'd.

Sherlock sits down in his chair, across from John. John glances up at him briefly and then returns to his perusal of the paper. He’s on his third of the morning, and it’s been blissful, having the time to actually read the papers. He’s reading the paper, and he isn’t seeing anything that involves himself and Sherlock, for once, not even obliquely.

“You’re feeling neglected,” Sherlock says, matter-of-fact.

John looks up again, raises a brow. “It doesn’t count as a deduction when it’s emotional.”

Sherlock scowls. “I _know_. It wasn’t meant to be a deduction.”

John smirks.

“You’re not resentful, though,” Sherlock continues, ignoring John’s smirk.

It has been a very busy couple of months. Case after case, one after another, several of them high profile, at least two Sherlock had classified as “between a seven and a half and an eight”. One had been for Mycroft, and three had involved them being shot at. John had had to hit two people, and had shot another.

It had been an exciting couple of months. 

“You know you’re vital to my work.”

“Yes.” 

“You are a superb conductor of light, John. You stimulate genius remarkably well.”

“Thank you.” John resists rolling his eyes.

“I don’t understand why you’re feeling neglected.” Sherlock is dangerously close to pouting.

He misses things sometimes, doesn’t he? When he’s on a case, or on a series of them, everything else fades into the background, and there’s only so much John can do to get him to eat, or sleep. Everything else just isn’t really worth the effort: politeness, conversation, even sex. 

“You’re always with me on cases, John.”

John smiles, a gentle smile. “It’s not me feeling neglected, Sherlock. It’s my libido.”

“Oh.” 

John smiles again, and returns to his paper. He isn’t resentful. He loves Sherlock, he knew what he was getting into. Well, he knew most of it, before the thing at the pool. But still. He knows that Sherlock’s libido is different than his own. They’ve discussed it. And that’s why he hasn’t brought it up. It’ll work out, it always does.

“We can fix that now.”

John closes the paper and tosses it in the general direction of the fireplace, stands, and walks towards their room without another word.

\----

John sits back on the bed, watching Sherlock hang his suit jacket in the wardrobe. 

Sherlock turns an assessing look on John, hands on his hips, hair attractively mussed from where he’d run his hands through it repeatedly as he had followed John down the hall. “Will you be able to reciprocate if you come first?”

He runs his hands through his hair again while John rolls on the bed laughing.

“No,” Sherlock decides, settling his hands on his hips and trying to look angry. “Together, then.”

“You’re such a romantic,” John finally manages, still chuckling.

Sherlock slinks across the room, stopping when he’s between John’s legs, and cups his face in his hands, the tenderness in his touch and, a moment later, his kiss, belying the bluntness of his words. 

John covers Sherlock’s hands with his own, straining up into the kiss.


End file.
